essay to get into pharmacy school

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How to Write a Pharmacy School Admission Essay

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Pharmacists may not have to write many essays in their day jobs, but many of them had to write an essay to get into pharmacy school. Like any form of writing, follow the rule of showing, not telling. Give the admissions committee examples of your abilities and past successes so that they can trust you’d make an excellent addition to their newest student cohort.

Grab the Committee’s Attention

The admissions committee has to slog through numerous essays that will probably sound alike. You have to grab the committee’s attention. Just keep in mind that there are negative ways to grab an admissions committee’s attention, and there are positive ways. On the negative end of the spectrum, you could write an essay that has spelling and grammatical errors from the get go or that makes offensive remarks. On the positive end of the spectrum, you can write an essay that leads with an interesting anecdote, a thought-provoking quote about pharmacy, or memories of what first inspired you to pursue this profession.

Show How You’ll Succeed

You have to strike a balance between showing how much you want to be in pharmacy school, and showing the pharmacy school how much they should want you. Finding this balance means making it clear that you have the right skills and ambition to contribute to the school and that the school has the right curriculum and teaching environment to contribute to your professional goals. Every relationship is better if it’s symbiotic, and the relationship between pharmacy schools and their students is no different. They’re happy to build your career if you’ll build their reputation, so convince the committee that you’ll help them succeed by succeeding yourself.

More than A Prescription-Filler

Pharmacists do more than what doctors tell them to do -- that is, they do more than prepare medication. In some respects, they often know more about different medication and healing remedies than other health care professionals. Unless someone has a medical emergency that he needs treated right away, he’ll often go to pharmacists for advice rather than book an appointment with his family doctor. In your admissions essay, demonstrate that you want to help people get well by sharing your knowledge and expertise with them.

Show Great Research Skills

To give people the best health-related advice possible, you can’t stop learning as soon as you graduate from pharmacy school. Pharmaceuticals is a fast and ever-evolving industry. You need to stay on top of the latest health news and research. Show the admissions committee that you’re a good researcher with excellent critical thinking skills and an aptitude for absorbing lots of information. They want to know that after you complete their program successfully, you’ll continue building on what you learned throughout your career.

• University of California San Francisco: School of Pharmacy Admissions Overview
• University of Michigan College of Pharmacy: The Science (and Art) of PharmD Admissions

Living in Canada, Andrew Aarons has been writing professionally since 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Ottawa, where he served as a writer and editor for the university newspaper. Aarons is also a certified computer-support technician.

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